PETERSEN MEDIA
Heading to the Reno Tahoe Fernley Speedway for two night’s of action with the King of the West Series, Kyle Hirst had a decent weekend that saw him score second and ninth place finishes, though his second place finish was a bitter pill to swallow.
“Overall we had a good weekend,” Hirst said. “We had a great car both nights, just weren’t able to get a win like we had hoped.”
With 28 cars on hand on Friday night, Hirst timed in second quick, putting him in the second row of his heat race.
A second place finish in his heat put him in the dash, where he scored a second place finish, and started on the front row for the feature event.
Hirst had a strong Roth Enterprises/HR Livestock Transportation/3H Cattle machine as he grabbed the lead early, and began working his way to a sizeable lead, on the newly configured 3/8 track in Nevada.
Working through heavy lapped traffic, KH never seemed to miss a beat as laps clicked down, and he kept second running, Rico Abreu, at bay behind him.
Taking the white flag in the lead, Hirst was in position to pick up his second series win, until Rico Abreu found something up top, to rocket around Hirst coming out of turn four to take the lead, and drop Hirst to second at the line.
“I had no idea Rico was even that close,” Hirst said. “We were in lapped traffic most of the race, and I was just trying to hit my marks, and finish it off, but he did what he had to do, and I congratulate him and his team.”
Back in action on Saturday night, Hirst timed his machine in sixth fastest on the extremely slick track, and went on to pick up a heat race win.
The number four pill put Hirst in in the second row of the dash, and as the track continued to take rubber, Hirst would finish in the four spot, putting him in the second row for the 30-lap feature.
With the track conditions continuing to worsen, Hirst new the importance of his start, and on the opening lap, he wen to grab the third spot from Craig Stidham, but the duo collided, and Hirst was forced to the back of the pack.
Restarting last, Hirst got his elbows up, and capitalized on some mistakes, as he worked his way up to the sixth spot on the rubber down track.
Late in the race, contact to Hirst’s left rear forced him to the work area to get a new tire, and over the final handful of laps, he was able to move from 12th to score a ninth place finish.
“I knew the start of the race was huge, and forced the issue a bit and it didn’t end up well,” he said. “We had a great car, and came from the back, but we didn’t’ get the finish we should have. I have to thank Dennis and Teresa Roth for letting us get out and have some fun, and hopefully we can get back up front at Tulare next weekend.”
Kyle and his Roth Motorsports team would like to thank Roth Enterprises, HR Livestock Transportation, 3H Cattle, Mobil1, FK Rod Ends, Weld Wheels, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Kent Performance Center, Kaeding Performance, and Astro Titanium for their support.
2013 ROTH MOTORSPORTS BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-20, Wins-1, Top 5’s-7, Top-10’s-12
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-32, Wins-1, Top 5’s-10, Top 10’s-20
ON TAP: Hirst and his Roth Motorsports team will now head to the Thunderbowl in Tulare, CA for a KWS double header on Saturday and Sunday.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with the Roth Motorsports team by visiting www.rothmotorsports83.com. You can also follow Kyle on Twitter @KyleHirstRacing.